Aaron Murray Named SEC Offensive Player of the Week

Sep 7, 2013; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Aaron Murray (11) scrambles before throwing an 85-yard touchdown pass in the second half against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Sanford Stadium. Georgia won 41-30. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

It seems as if everyone understands just how tremendous Aaron Murray was on Saturday afternoon.

Murray was announced on Monday as the SEC Offensive Player of the Week, and while there is no “voting” released on the award, I’m fairly confident that it could have been unanimous. Murray finished UGA’s 41-30 victory over South Carolina with 309 yards on 17 of 23 passing, and even more impressively, threw 4 touchdowns against 0 interceptions.

While it wasn’t the best statistical day in Murray’s career in terms of pure yardage (427 yards against Kentucky in 2012), it was the biggest “statement” game in his career, and the first time he played at this level against an elite opponent. To illustrate just how good he was, his 244.2 passing efficiency rating on the day doubles as the 2nd-best rate in college football this season, trailing only the breakout performance from FSU’s Jameis Winston in the Seminoles debut.

It would be easy to lavish every positive on Aaron Murray going forward, but instead, I will simply say that this could just be the beginning. Murray has flashed this level of play many times during his 4-year reign under center, and if he can put this together for 10 more weeks, a Heisman run isn’t out of the question.